‘Stargirl 2×13: Summer School – Chapter Thirteen’ Review
Stars: Brec Bassinger, Luke Wilson, Amy Smart, Yvette Monreal, Anjelika Washington, Trae Romano, Christopher Baker | Created by Geoff Johns
What Happened This Week
It’s season finale time for Stargirl! The whole season has been building towards the confrontation between the JSA, both new and old, against the devil in the shadows, Eclipso. Did the season finale nail the final confrontation, or did it stumble? Let’s find out!
Finally, the Confrontation
Eclipso, still in creepy boy form, reveals his whole plan to Beth and Dr. Mid-Niter as it revolves around harnessing Stargirl’s power to be the ultimate god in the universe. Before Beth can warn Stargirl and the JSA, Eclipso terrorizes her with visions of her parents dying in the Shadowlands and blaming it on Beth. Flashbacks are shown of Beth standing up to her parents and telling them the divorce is not her fault, which in some way, will result in their death. It’s vague but I’m trusting Eclipso on this one.
Stargirl and the JSA show up to help Beth and Dr. Mid-Niter but are welcomed by creepy boy Eclipso. He tells our heroes (and Cindy) that Beth is too busy watching her parents to die to join them, but he would like to play. Eclipso creates mirror images of each of the JSA, adult Wildcat vs. Yolanda/Wildcat, Cindy vs. a younger version of Cindy, and Pat vs. his sidekick self, resulting in our heroes literally fighting themselves.
Courtney is left to fight Eclipso, who does his best villain impersonation by revealing his plan to Stargirl as he will merge the Shadowlands with the real world tonight, thus absorbing humanity and ending our world. The mirror image fighting doesn’t last too long though as Dr. Mid-Niter, using the power of his replacement goggles, convinces everyone that it’s not real and the mirages vanish.
Once the mirror images vanish, the JSA can focus on fighting Eclipso directly, which leads to one of my favorite action scenes in the whole series. Teased all season, watching the JSA and their villains join forces to confront Eclipso is very satisfying and brought all of this season’s storylines together. Unfortunately, it doesn’t go our heroes’ way as Eclipso is too powerful and is able to take control of the battle, leading to throwing Stargirl through the window and onto the street below.
Eclipso decides the fight is over and proceeds to gloat, but the victory is premature as a rebuilt S.T.R.I.P.E., driven by Mike (he finally gets his hero moment!) sets Eclipso on fire in the middle of Main Street. The robot throws everything at Eclipso, including a chainsaw, and once Jakeem and Thunderbolt arrive, it looks like the tide is finally turning for the JSA. Unfortunately, Eclipso literally throws Thunderbolt at S.T.R.I.P.E., electrocuting the robot and temporarily paralyzing both S.T.R.I.P.E. and the genie.
Luckily for them, more friends show up as Hourman, without his hourglass or powers, distracts Eclipso long enough for a charging Solomon Grundy to knock Eclipso into a building. Grundy proceeds to use his brute strength to weaken Eclipso a bit but eventually Eclipso uses his powers to tear a hole into Grundy’s chest, killing the big beast. Hourman charges after Eclipso but is quickly knocked out and thrown across the street, leaving Jakeem by himself.
Pat and Stargirl arrive in an attempt to save the day but after threatening Pat’s life, Eclipso convinces Stargirl to admit that she hates Eclipso. That one bit of negative honesty by Stargirl allows Eclipso to possess her body and cause the staff to turn black. Eclipso is now in control of both the Shadowlands and our world and attempts to merge them into one.
With the Shadowlands being merged with our world, Beth’s parents are saved from certain death thanks to a returning Shade! Dr. Mid-Niter is confused as the Shade should be dead but as he admits, he always has been overly dramatic. Welcome back Shade! Before taking off to save the day, Dr. Mid-Niter tells Beth’s parents that they should be very proud of their daughter, as Beth’s parents look on, confused at what just happened.
Wildcat and Cindy argue over how to stop Eclipso without killing Courtney and eventually Wildcat convinces Cindy to embrace the light and they take off to get the staff back. Eclipso makes short work of these two and proclaims the staff can only be wielded by one, but someone arrives to disagree with him…Sylvester, aka, the original Starman! Eclipso and Sylvester wrestle over the staff and when Eclipso tells Courtney that she was never wanted, Sylvester reminds her of all the people in her life that love her. A montage shows every one of Courtney’s friends and family during happier times, resulting in Courtney overpowering Eclipso and separating from the demon.
All of our heroes, including returning reformed villains Sportsmaster and Tigress, stand over a fallen Eclipso and Shade advises all that control the light should use it. Jenny using her ring and Stargirl using the staff unleash light onto Eclipso while Jakeem wishes for Thunderbolt to turn our villain into “toast”. The power of the light works, destroying Eclipso and literally turning him into toast.
Don’t Forget About the Others!
While the JSA is fighting Eclipso, Rick, Mike, and Jakeem are at the garage attempting to fix their own weapons in order to join the fight. Rick struggles with repairing the broken hourglass he shattered a few episodes ago and eventually storms out of the garage, frustrated with not being able to fix the only thing that can make him a superhero.
Mike and Jakeem, with the assistance of Zeek, do their best to fix S.T.R.I.P.E. but the engine parts they need will not be in till the next day. After helping Pat and Mike all season, Zeek finally asks what S.T.R.I.P.E. is really for and what is going on in Blue Valley but before Mike and Jakeem can provide answers to our favorite mechanic, Thunderbolt arrives back at the garage! With the arrival of the genie, Mike and Jakeem have no choice but let Zeek in on the JSA and Eclipso. The scenes at the garage and with Zeek in particular provided some much needed levity for the season finale and Zeek continues to excel in his scenes when he gets a chance.
Epilogue
After defeating Eclipso, our heroes reunite the next day at Courtney’s house and detail their future plans. Rick is leaving to find himself, but Yolanda agrees to stay with the JSA. Courtney questions Pat on how Sylvester/Starman is alive still and if the staff will choose him again. Pat tells Courtney to relax and actually enjoy their victory as she is the reason everyone showed up to defeat Eclipso, even Sportsmaster and Tigress. Sylvester interrupts the step-father/step-daughter talk and explains the staff chose Courtney as she always looks for the good in people and he’s not here to take it back.
The rest of the team?
- Dr. Mid-Niter takes off for Indiana after Beth, using the power of the goggles, explains his wife is still alive and was pregnant at the time of his disappearance.
- Mike and Jakeem joined forces to work a joint newspaper route while still helping the JSA.
- Cameron, after finishing his mural dedicated to his deceased father, meets his grandparents and is told the truth about his family and their superpowers.
- Cindy admits to Yolanda that her way of doing things, embracing the light, may be the right way and as a result, she wants to stay in town and join the JSA.
- Rick, while burying Solomon Grundy in the woods, is advised by the Shade that if Grundy is buried in the right place, he will return to life again. Oh, and the Shade? He’s staying in Blue Valley for a bit.
- Beth admits to her parents that she is a superhero and as a result of all the danger around them, her parents have rekindled their love for each other and will not be getting a divorce. Her parents also are now ready to be the best parents they can be for their superhero daughter.
- Jenny takes off for Milwaukee in search of her brother.
- Sportsmaster, Tigress and their daughter have bought the house next door and are now neighbors to Pat…ha!
- All is not well though, as at the Helix Institution, Nurse Louise introduces us to next season’s villain, Mister Bones. He looks like the Red Skull and even dresses like him but after having a demon as a villain this season, I’m interested in this new supernatural character.
Quote of the Week:
The Shade (to Dr. Mid-Niter): “Oh Charles, you know I always had a flair for the dramatics,” when discussing his apparent death in the movie theater.
Grade: A (Excellent)
Stargirl’s season finale was a masterpiece and the best episode in the series as the writers did a splendid job of connecting every storyline from the season into the final battle. The final confrontation with Eclipso was satisfying and lasted the majority of the episode, which was a nice surprise considering most fight scenes are over in a blink of an eye. The finale had a few more surprises including Sylvester returning, the villains embracing their good side without double-crossing the JSA, and Zeek now the official mechanic of the JSA. The finale also did a good job teasing next season with a new, unique villain, a new JSA and a good combination of original heroes and new heroes. What a great season!
